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Another good example of blouses for boys is a Best & Co. white summer sailor middy blouse. Best was a New York department store. Those not living in New York City could order from a store catalog. White blouses and suits were for summer wear. The blouse was done in lawn and duck. We do not know what magazine in which the ad appeared. It was for boys to age 8 years. We think this ad appeared in other publications.
The Best & Company appaers to have been an important New York City department store that went natioanl. The built a large store at 645 5th Avenue at East 51st Street, NE Corner (Wing on 52nd Street). It was located in Midtown Manhattan. The building was replaced by the Olympic Tower of Aristotle Onassis. I am not sure when the comapny was founded, but note that they were active in the 1950s and 60s. They varried an extensive line of fashionanle clothes. We know that Best & Company was a major U.S. depattment store chain, bit have little information on the company at this time.
Best advertised in several magazines. We see a lot of ads in the Youth Compsnion. We are not sure, however, just where this ad appeared.
Many boys wore blouses in the 1900s. One of the most popular style was the middy blouses. Other blouses had had sailor styling, but were not middly blouses. These blouses with sailor styling were among the most popular. A blouse is a top shirt-like garment meant to be worn alone (as versus the chemise), or as a layer. As the name implies, the sleeves are loose, can be short or long, and the overall cut is usually generous, perfectly suited for a small child. Blouses can have various neckline styles, with or without collars. The materials are commonly cottons, linens, synthetics, satins, and silks. Fancier blouses can be made of velvets, velveteen, and valure--essentially, anything of a middleweight material. A bouse can be tightly fitted or drape loose from the body. The blouse has become the essential staple article of women's dresswear, but in past years was also worn by boys.
The best known type of plain blouses were the middy blouse with traditional styling.Less fancy middy blouses were used with sailor suits. The blouses were called middy blouses and were modeled on the uniform of the British Navy. Authentic middy blouses had three white stripes at the cuff and neck to honor Nelson's three great victories. They were first worn by boys, but gradually middy blouses were also made for girls. This in part expllains the gradual shift to younger and younger boys wearing them. Now only the youngest of boys will be seen wearing a middy blouse, but they are still used as girls' school uniforms in countries like Japan and Korea.
The garment here was a middy blouse, but Best referred to it as a sailor blouse. White blouses and suits were for summer wear. The ad copy read, ""Best & Co. Liliputian Bazaar. Boy's Sailor Bouse. Of white lawn, white duck collar and sailor knot: collar shield [dickey] and cuffs trimmed in blue. Sizes 2 1/2 to 8."
Readers could write in for a catalog that had over 1,000 illustrations. Consumers were advised, "We Have No Agents. Our Goods Sold Only at this One Store. Address Dept.15, 60-62 W. 23d St., New York."
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